Ask an expert

Get free help from our community of tradespeople

Leaking radiator

Posted by Sue Daniels, on
Bathroom towel rail is leaking, but not all the time. It isn't clear water more like sticky brown stuff with no smell. Last night there was about 6" in diameter- wiped up and since then about 1" in diameter. Is this anything to worry about.
cameron bax

cameron bax

Hi Sue, You Will Need to get this leak sorted, if you have a combi and a seal system you will find the pressure in the boiler continually dropping, and if you have a open vented heating system, it will leak continually until it is sorted. The brown substance you have described is a sludge formed in the heating system, it can build up a clog the heating pipes and radiators, you may find some radiators are hot at the top and cold at the bottom where sludge lays when the heating is on. When you get a plumber out to fix your leaking radiator, ask them to sample your central heating water, you may find there is less sludge than you think and it may be able to be removed with some chemical cleaner and a cold flush or if the build up is quite high, you may need a chemical flush or power flush to remove. If you have a problem with Sludge i would also recommend installing a magnetic filter on the return pipe to the boiler, doing this will collect any sludge before it enters the boiler, protecting the boiler. All the Best The Posh Plumbers
Justin Richard Saphir

Justin Richard Saphir

It's what we in the trade call sludge, if you are going to get the radiator repaired I would suggest you buy some "inhibitor" to give your boiler and central heating system a extended life span, it is a good idea to do this once year, so ask your boiler repair man to put some a litre on each year the cost of the inhibitor is approximately £10-15 for a litre!

What would you like to do now?

Find more questions Create my Job

Homeowner stories

Homeowner stories - Nick

Nick shares his story of finding local tradespeople in his new area.

app-icon

Get our app for homeowners

  • Send messages and get notifications from tradespeople
  • Add photos to get more accurate quotes
  • View tradespeople’s profiles